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Eukara Vox -> Issue 51 - Superstitions and Their Origins (green_girl02) (3/1/2010 16:28:19)
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Superstitions and Their Origins
By green_girl02
There have always been superstitions in the world. Some are very silly and don't make sense to us, some are serious, and some we know about but don't know why they exist. In any rate, most people believe or act on some superstition at some point or another, even just in jest. We're going to be exploring what some different myths are and their origins today.
One very popular myth concerns horseshoes. Many people believe horseshoes are very lucky items, but only if it's in the upright position. If a horseshoe is in the downright position, in other words "tips down", the luck will "fall out" of the horseshoe. "Tips up" is very lucky, as it is constantly catching luck and storing it. When someone rubs the iron with a finger or their hand, it is said that the horseshoe bestows some of its magical luck on you. In Ireland, iron was infamous for keeping all mischievous fey folk away from a house because it was rumored that iron was poisonous to them.
The phrase "Knock on wood" is used quite flippantly today, but its origins where much more serious. In many different cultures, it was believed trees had spirits and were alive. If you said something you wanted in front of them and didn’t acknowledge them with a touch or a slight knock, then they would steal your hope away. In order to counteract this, people acknowledged the tree spirits, even if there was no tree around. It is said that if there is no wood handy, you can call yourself a "blockhead" and knock on your own head... just don't hurt yourself!
The last well-known superstition that is going to be covered in this article is about the broken mirror. It is widely believed that if you break a mirror, you will have bad luck for seven years. There are two parts to this superstition: One part involving the reasoning behind breaking the mirror, the other part involves the bad luck for seven years. The reason for the first one is because a person's reflection is considered to be a view into his soul. If you ruined a person's reflection, you ruined their soul. This was probably especially troublesome when people used water as a reflection because all it took were ripples. The second part dates back to the time of the Romans. They believed souls were reborn or renewed every seven years, thus cleansing a person of all their bad luck.
So, if you want to have good luck, avoid breaking mirrors or looking at yourself in a pool of water, knock gently on wood a lot, and keep those iron horseshoes upright! With all of that, you should be good to go... if you believe in superstitions, that is!
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